Enable kiosk mode

Use the Photobooth Setup Wizard first: 7 Misc → 1 Autostart and shortcut. If you need manual steps, use the OS-specific guidance below.

Firefox

Basic Kiosk Mode

firefox --kiosk http://localhost

Notes

  • Launches Firefox fullscreen
  • Hides UI elements and prevents normal window controls

Chrome / Chromium

Use chromium or google-chrome depending on your distribution/installed package.

Basic Kiosk Mode

chromium --kiosk http://localhost

chromium \
  --kiosk http://localhost \
  --noerrdialogs \
  --disable-infobars \
  --disable-features=Translate \
  --no-first-run \
  --check-for-update-interval=31536000 \
  --touch-events=enabled \
  --password-store=basic

Flag Descriptions

Flag Purpose
--kiosk Fullscreen kiosk mode
--noerrdialogs Suppresses crash and error dialogs
--disable-infobars Hides automation and warning banners
--disable-features=Translate Disables translation prompts
--no-first-run Skips first-run UI
--check-for-update-interval=31536000 Effectively disables update checks
--touch-events=enabled Enables touchscreen input
--password-store=basic Avoids dependency on desktop keyrings

Raspberry Pi–Specific Options

chromium \
  --kiosk http://localhost \
  --ozone-platform=wayland \
  --start-maximized

Notes

  • --ozone-platform=wayland enables native Wayland support
  • --start-maximized ensures correct initial sizing

X11 (Legacy / Fallback)

chromium \
  --kiosk http://localhost \
  --use-gl=egl

Notes

  • --use-gl=egl improves GPU acceleration on Raspberry Pi under X11

Full Example (Raspberry Pi + Wayland)

chromium \
  --kiosk http://localhost \
  --noerrdialogs \
  --disable-infobars \
  --disable-features=Translate \
  --no-first-run \
  --check-for-update-interval=31536000 \
  --touch-events=enabled \
  --password-store=basic \
  --ozone-platform=wayland \
  --start-maximized

Example .desktop File

The following example assumes:

  • Application name: Photobooth
  • The icon (photobooth) was installed by the SetupWizard
  • Chromium is used as the kiosk browser

photobooth.desktop

[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.3
Type=Application
Name=Photobooth
Comment=Photobooth Kiosk Application
Terminal=false
Exec=chromium --kiosk http://localhost \
  --noerrdialogs \
  --disable-infobars \
  --disable-features=Translate \
  --no-first-run \
  --check-for-update-interval=31536000 \
  --touch-events=enabled \
  --password-store=basic
Icon=photobooth
StartupNotify=false
Categories=Utility;

Raspberry Pi Wayland Variant (Exec Line Only)

Exec=chromium --kiosk http://localhost \
  --noerrdialogs \
  --disable-infobars \
  --disable-features=Translate \
  --no-first-run \
  --check-for-update-interval=31536000 \
  --touch-events=enabled \
  --password-store=basic \
  --ozone-platform=wayland \
  --start-maximized

Raspberry Pi X11 Variant (Exec Line Only)

Exec=chromium --kiosk http://localhost \
  --noerrdialogs \
  --disable-infobars \
  --disable-features=Translate \
  --no-first-run \
  --check-for-update-interval=31536000 \
  --touch-events=enabled \
  --password-store=basic \
  --use-gl=egl

Installation Locations

System-wide

/usr/share/applications/photobooth.desktop

Per-user

~/.local/share/applications/photobooth.desktop

After installing or modifying the file:

update-desktop-database

System-Wide Autostart with XDG

Using /etc/xdg/autostart/photobooth.desktop ensures the application launches automatically for all users when a graphical session starts (LXDE, XFCE, GNOME, etc.).

Autostart on Raspberry Pi OS Bookworm (Wayland)

Raspberry Pi OS Bookworm uses Wayland by default. The two supported compositors documented here are labwc (default) and Wayfire.

labwc (default)

Create ~/.config/labwc/autostart (or add to the existing [autostart] section) as follows:

[autostart]
chromium --kiosk http://localhost \
  --noerrdialogs \
  --disable-infobars \
  --disable-features=Translate \
  --no-first-run \
  --check-for-update-interval=31536000 \
  --touch-events=enabled \
  --password-store=basic \
  --ozone-platform=wayland \
  --start-maximized

Wayfire

Edit ~/.config/wayfire.ini and add or update the [autostart] section as follows:

[autostart]
chromium = chromium --kiosk http://localhost \
  --noerrdialogs \
  --disable-infobars \
  --disable-features=Translate \
  --no-first-run \
  --check-for-update-interval=31536000 \
  --touch-events=enabled \
  --password-store=basic \
  --ozone-platform=wayland \
  --start-maximized